untitled for now, anyway
by dwilivia
Summary: What's happening in old Tulsa after the death of three teens? Soda's over Sandy (not), Darry's still Darry and poor Pony. He's confused over girls. Written in Pony's POV... pls R&R?
1. Default Chapter

Untitled (for now)  
  
I stuffed my hands into my pockets and made my way down the corner of Pickett and Sutton and felt a chill go up my spine. It was the exact same place Dallas had agreed to meet Johnny and me about seven months ago. I looked up at the shopping center and it looked just about the same. It reminded me of the horrible scenes that took place after we left it; Dallas grinning when those policemen shot him and Johnny when he looked so pale and weak in that hospital bed and the soc Bob when he lay on the cemented floor, bleeding. I remembered what Johnny had said that night. "I killed him" He said slowly, "I killed that boy."  
  
Something about that voice had made me want to wonder why; why Johnny, innocent, lost Johnny had the nerve to kill someone like that. Surely he'd think about the consequences, like how he'd have to deal with the fuzz and everything. Oh glory, Johnny, why didn't you use your head? I wanted to scream, but Johnny was dead. I shook with the realization and bit my lip until it nearly bled.  
  
I went down to the store in the shopping center. Lately, Two-Bit's been teaching me a lot on how you mug stuff out of a store, although Darry would crack Two-Bit's ribs if he ever found out. I bought a Pepsi and walked out with whatever I had swiped from the shelf on the left. Once I was about twenty yards away from the store I fingered my pocket to find I had stolen a candy bar. Sighing, I unwrapped the chocolate, lingering around the shopping center for a while longer before heading towards the DX. As usual, it was crowded with girls. I saw a girl batting her eyelashes at Soda and nearly spewed right there and then. I reminded myself that that was exactly the reason I don't take an interest in girls. Well, not yet, anyway.  
  
Sodapop saw me and started running towards me. He snatched my Pepsi from me and took a huge sip and then thrust the bottle back into my hands. "Whatcha doing, kid?"  
  
I scowled at him, "I ain't a kid no more," I said, digging my thumbs back into my pockets, trying to look a little tougher and older. I was already fifteen, after all. "You sure got a lot of business today, Soda."  
  
Soda nodded. "It's a Saturday, remember?"  
  
Right. How could I forget?  
  
I nodded and asked," Where's Steve?"  
  
"In the garage. But I reckon he's doing much more than fixing cars, if you know what I mean..." He gave me a double wink and I shook my head. I swear, we're all becoming more like Two-Bit nowadays.  
  
Suddenly, a cheerful voice appeared out of nowhere. "Hey Pony! Soda!"  
  
Only one person could be so cheery around so many blondes on a Saturday afternoon. Two-Bit Mathews.  
  
Sodapop grinned and I had to smile too. Because whenever Soda smiles, you smile too.  
  
"So, how's business, Soda?"  
  
"Not too bad. Although, we could always use the Two-Bit charm and scare off some of the ladies because I do think our little ole Steve is getting a little bit distracted in the garage..." He said, with another wink to Two- Bit.  
  
Two-Bit laughed and I joined in. There was something contagious about his laughter that I had never noticed until now.  
  
"Eh Soda... I'll be going to catch a movie now. Two-Bit, you wanna......" I stopped in mid-sentence as my eyes settled on something disturbing. I spotted a familiar, red headed girl who was absolutely stunning. It was Cherry. 


	2. Chapter 2

Untitled (for now)  
  
Chapter 2  
  
Cherry Valance. I thought about her for a moment. She was the red-head soc who had befriended Johnny and me and threw coke at Dally at the drive-in. She was also the same soc whose boyfriend got killed by Johnny. I hadn't spoken to her since the rumble. I didn't know why, but maybe because I didn't want to look at her and remember Johnny, Dally and Bob.  
  
Hoping she didn't spot me, I started to run off in the opposite direction. Before I could get anywhere, Soda grabbed me by the end of my shirt and turned my around. "Where you going Pony?"  
  
"To the movie house." I said.  
  
"Don't you want Two-Bit to go with you?"  
  
"Nah... he'd probably fall asleep before it starts. You know how he is around dark places."  
  
Soda laughed and I grinned. "Can't you stay a bit, Pony?"  
  
I looked around for Cherry and couldn't find her, so I shrugged and took a cloth to help Soda with the finishing touches on a convertible. Boy howdy, it was one hell of a car. I thought. Soda saw my face and laughed.  
  
"Soda, you are crazy."  
  
"Not as crazy as you." Then we both started to laugh. Well, Soda did most of the laughing.  
  
We stopped laughing after a while and I suddenly realized Two-Bit had left in the middle of our conversation. "Where's Two-Bit?" I asked, feeling a little stupid.  
  
Soda looked around and spotted Two-Bit. I turned to look, and, as usual, he had a couple of blondes hanging off his arm. And then I saw Cherry heading in my direction. Too late, I thought, she's too close. I can't run.  
  
I tried to act calm, but I couldn't.  
  
"Ponyboy?" I heard that familiar voice again.  
  
I didn't want to look up, but I had to. Slouching and digging my thumbs deep into my jeans pockets, I stared at her coolly, "Yeah?"  
  
She had a sad smile on her face and said, "I need to talk to you."  
  
"Okay........." I looked up at Soda and he left. "Whaddya want?"  
  
"Oh Pony... I'm sorry about Johnny." Cherry and I haven't talked since Johnny died. Maybe even longer.  
  
"Well, don't be." I said, attempting to look as cold and as hard as Dallas would when he wanted to.  
  
She looked at me sadly and I nearly thought she was going to cry.  
  
Trust me, I've grown up not knowing what to do around girls, because the only girls I've ever been around were Sandy, Evie, Sylvia and Two-Bit's girls. And maybe mom and a couple of cousins.  
  
Suddenly, tears started rolling down her cheeks and I was frozen. What do I do now? I thought.  
  
"Pony... why'd you have to be so cold?" She asked softly. I did what the guys in the movies did. I pulled her into my arms and hugged her while she sobbed into my shirt.  
  
"Cherry... stop crying okay?" I whispered, more to her hair than her.  
  
"Pony," She said, tugging herself away from me, "How've you been?"  
  
I grimaced at the question. The truth was, I was a wreck. I'd tried booze for a while, got mugged four or five times and got jumped twice. It was no joke being a greaser, and certainly much more after you've killed a popular soc.  
  
"I'm... okay."  
  
She looked at me wearily, "No Pony. Don't lie to me... You ain't the same no more..."  
  
"Yes I am..." I said, miserably.  
  
"You miss Johnny huh? The same way I miss Bob. And... and Dallas."  
  
"You loved him, didn't you?"  
  
"Dallas? Sure. Hell, maybe even more than Bob. And I hardly knew him..." She chuckled nervously, and then a few tears slipped past her cheeks again.  
  
"Dally... he... he... I don't know why I loved him, Pony..."  
  
"Oh." So maybe it wasn't the best thing to say, but I really didn't know what to do.  
  
"Um... yeah... I just wanted to see if you were good."  
  
I nodded and she gave me another long hug. "You still dig sunsets, Pony?"  
  
"Yeah, I guess. Haven't seen one since........." Then I stopped. I realized I hadn't seen one since Johnny and me were up in that church.  
  
Meanwhile, Cherry was saying, "Would you like to see one again?"  
  
I nodded. Cherry smiled and said," I haven't seen one in a long time too... maybe you'd like to catch one with me?"  
  
"Sure thing." Her eyes lit up and said she'd meet me here tomorrow. I nodded and she smiled.  
  
"You're an okay kid, Ponyboy." I heard her say, and by the time I had looked up at her she was already halfway across the DX station.  
  
-=-=-=-=-  
  
A/N: I am so sorry if any character seems weird, especially Cherry. I will update as soon as I finish my D&T homework......... and to my lovely reviews, a big thank you and a hug......... and I need some suggestions cause from the state I am in now, this story will get nowhere......... please send in suggestions and comments... I don't freaking care if you leave a flame.  
  
-dwi- 


	3. Chapter 3

Untitled (for now)

The next thing I knew was that Soda came over to me and he was grinning.

"So..." He said, throwing an arm over my shoulder, "What did that soc want?"

"Nothing much. Just said she wanted to talk."

Soda frowned. "You mean she didn't like, confess her undying love to you or something?"

I rolled my eyes at him. Seriously, Soda could be a real pain in the ass when it came to girls.

"Hey Soda?"

He looked at me. "Yeah, what?"

"You still in love with Sandy?" I saw Soda stiffened. Soda hadn't talked about Sandy since

forever.

"I guess so, Pony. I don't know..."

"Would you die for her?"

"What-"

"I said, would you die for her?"

Soda looked at me strangely, "By golly Pony, you sure ask weird questions. What do they teach

you now in school these days?"

"Just answer me, Soda."

"Sure, I suppose." He said, and then he looked over my shoulder and grinned when he saw Two-

Bit and Steve walking toward us.

"Steve! You done with the Ford yet?"

Steve nodded.

"Hey Ponyboy, you wanna catch a movie now? I think they're showing Gone With The Wind..."

Two-Bit said.

"Sure," I said, and then I looked up at Soda, as if silently asking him if he wanted to come.

"Me and Steve are gonna pick up some girls. See you later, guys."

Two-Bit tugged me towards the alley of the movie house and I laughed at his impatience. He only

went cause he wanted to see Scarlet O'Hara in that low cut dress.

"Hey, Pony?"

"Yeah?"

"Is that Scarlet girl going to be in that same dress we saw on the movie poster?"

See. I knew Two-Bit so well.

"Yes, she is." I saw Two-Bit's eyes light up and I could have sworn he was walking faster than

usual.

"Relax Two-Bit. It's going to be a while before you see her in that dress. Besides, she's not even

blond."

"Aww........." Two-Bit sighed. Then he said," What did you mean by 'she's not even blond?"

"Don't you usually go for girls who are blonds?"

"Girls are the same, blond, blue or black. They're only good for one thing."

Two-Bit gave me that crazy grin and I knew he was joking. I rolled my eyes and pretended to be

irritated. Then, he started walking ahead of me.

"Hey! Stop walking so fast!" I yelled at him.

Two Bit turned around and stuck his tongue out at me. Then he ran faster. We ended up chasing

each other all across the street.

-=-=-=-=-

A/N: I am horrible. I told you this story is getting no where. And don't ask me why Pony suddenly decides to ask Soda if he'd die for Sandy. Because I sure don't know. Actually, I do. Haha. I have a few ideas for the story. Yeah, so review......... flame if you must and constructive criticism is always appreciated.

To Hatake Kakashi: I'm sorry Leo, I'm just exercising my right of speech (which I technically don't have but never mind). There is no way in hell I am taking you off my bio......... you should be honoured! haha. Oh well. Oh yeah, thanks for your review. I was kinda hoping you wouldn't read my horrible story but anyways, never mind.


	4. Chapter 4

Untitled (for now)

Within two minutes, Two-Bit had me pinned on the roadside while I was squirming and wriggling, trying to break free from his strong hold. Two-Bit's generally stronger and heavier than me by a lot and he'd gotten a few muscles of his own ever since he went with Darry to the gym once. He's been going now for about a month.

"Holler uncle!" Yelled Two-Bit. The roadside had quite a few people and some stopped to stare at us. I was getting embarrassed.

"Two-Bit, get off me!" I said, eyeing all the people who had gathered. I was afraid the fuzz might show if someone thought Two-Bit was mugging me or something. Suddenly, someone pushed Two-Bit off and I saw Soda laughing like crazy. Steve was on Soda's left, holding a Pepsi and chewing his bottom lip. He didn't look very happy.

"Woah Pony, you okay?" Soda asked. Then he turned to Two-Bit, "Lay off, Two-Bit. You're scarring my kid brother."

"I ain't a kid." I said. "I'm fifteen."

Soda pretended not to hear.

"So, why ain't y'all off and picking up gals?" Two-Bit asked.

"We were going to, but Soda wanted to see why there were so many people gathered around you guys." Steve said, taking another sip from his Pepsi. He sorta glared at me for a few seconds, then turned and stared into the distance. I scowled. Steve was getting on my nerves a lot these few days. I wondered if it had to do with him breaking up with Evie, which happened about two weeks ago. I knew Evie had cried after that because I saw her, her eyes red, leaving the DX. And that next day she came to school, her eyes were swollen. I felt a little bad for her.

"You guys wanna go grab something to eat?" Soda asked.

"Okay." I said.

"I'm going somewhere. You guys go first." Steve suddenly said. Soda, being Soda who understood everyone, nodded and cheerfully hauled me up to my feet and motioned for Two-Bit to join us. Two-Bit got up and we walked to the Dingo.

The Dingo was crowded with people, but we managed to find a place inside it. A waitress, a rather good looking one at that, came and took our order. Two-Bit, however, decided to make her job a little harder. He started flirting with her. The girl became a little uncomfortable and she started to fidget. Soda cut in," Aw, Two-Bit, leave her alone." The girl left and we waited patiently for our food. Suddenly, I heard a girl asked at the table next to ours," Excuse me, do you happen to know a Sodapop Curtis around?" Soda looked at me and grinned, and he turned around and said," I'm Sodapop. Do you......" He paused and I turned around to see what made Soda stop. The all too familiar girl had dropped her writing pad and was staring at Soda. She tucked her blond hair behind her ears and chuckled nervously.

The girl, I realized, was Sandy.

-=-=-=-=-

A/N: I suck, I know. Gah! I failed my Chinese test which I supposedly studied for. ARGH! Anyway, I'm so sorry to leave you guys hanging but I can't write anymore. Please, please, please review! I need a lot of suggestions. Thanks. Also, tell me if you want Soda and Sandy together. Bye!


	5. Chapter 5

Untitled (for now)

Soda was real quiet on the way home; it almost seemed as if he was thinking. Soda doesn't really think much about stuff, he just does what he thinks he should do. And sometimes, he messes up that way.

Two-Bit seemed a little quiet too, and it was like a really awkward situation. Usually, you couldn't get Soda or Two-Bit to shut up. I wondered if Soda was still thinking about Sandy. I mean, you read all these novels where a girl is terribly in love with this guy and then the guy doesn't love her back and she gets all teary-eyed and can't stop thinking about him. I wondered if the same applied to guys. Or maybe guys are just too tough to let emotions run them over. I don't know. Maybe I'd ask Soda or Darry one day.

We passed the place where we buried Dally and Johnny. Usually if I walked with Soda or anyone, we'd make a huge circle to avoid this place. Maybe it triggered too many memories and maybe they all wanted to me to forget, but avoiding the place didn't help. They didn't know I still went there to talk to Johnny some times. So what if he couldn't hear me? It beat talking or crying about him and sometimes it felt as though he was really there. Yeah, I still cry about Johnny. I mean, I don't let Soda or Darry know, cause they'd call a doctor or something, like the time Mom and Dad died. I still get nightmares about them too.

Suddenly, Two-Bit looked up from the road he had been staring at and swore. He must've remembered Dally and Johnny's graves were here. Soda must've remembered too and he looked at me real worriedly.

"Pony, you okay?"

I shrugged, "Yeah, I'm okay."

Soda stared at the two markers we had set up and walked towards it. Two-Bit and I followed. Soda lay on the grass next to Dally's marker and stared up at the stars. Two-Bit had sat on the patch of grass next to Johnny's marker, rubbing it fondly and tracing the engravings Darry had carved. I sat down at Soda's feet, staring at the grass. I didn't want to look at the grave which held my best friend's bones.

Soda didn't say anything. Two-Bit was pulling the grass out from the ground and throwing it forcefully away as if he were really angry. Two-Bit takes anger passively. He doesn't really burst out like Dally or Darry.

I was getting sleepier and sleepier and I guess I must have dozed off. Soda had woken me up and had dragged me home. I supposed Two-Bit must've left on the way or something. I can't remember.

I think Soda dropped me once or twice. I woke up with a few bruises and about two hours too early for school. At least I would be able to see the sunrise. Maybe it would make me forget. Maybe it would make Cherry forget about Dallas too.

-=-=-=-=-

A/N: Ah. Crap. I know, I totally suck. Bah. I feel like killing my Chinese teacher plus my Science teacher. Oh well. Anyway, I have end-years in 6 weeks so I have to study. Okay, I'll need about three weeks to study so you do the math. Expect another update in a week or so. Depends if I'm depressed or not. Oh well. To my lovely reviewers:

Arantxa: Thanks for being my first reviewer and still continuing to read this story. I can assure you I will write this as long as you review!

Sodapop's#1gurl: Thanks for reviewing and giving your suggestion. I still don't know what I'll do with Sandy but she'll probably stay for a while.

bookwormgrl: I will think over your suggestion and also, sorry that Cherry seems weird. I don't know, but I think she seems okay. Well, thanks anyway for your review.

hotchickbabe24: I'm flattered. Thanks for reviewing. Sorry that Cherry seems a little OOC. Gah, I'm a horrible writer. Anyway, thanks for reviewing. ï Will consider your suggestion too.

And thanks to: Jeannie : desert-girl : Jessie13 : Jorjor for reviewing. Thanks!!!!


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